Tag: new Maharashtra CM

  • Fadnavis didn’t seem happy accepting Deputy CM’s post but followed orders: Sharad Pawar

    By PTI

    PUNE: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday claimed that BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis did not appear to be happy while accepting the deputy chief minister’s post in Eknath Shinde’s government.

    While rebel Shiv Sena leader Shinde was sworn in as the new chief minister of Maharashtra following the collapse of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government, Fadnavis, a former CM who had said he would remain outside, took oath as Shinde’s deputy.

    “I think Fadnavis has not accepted the number two position happily. His facial expression said it all,” Pawar told reporters in Pune.

    ALSO READ| The Eknath Shinde story: Auto driver who shook Shiv Sena’s foundations

    “(But) He is from Nagpur and he has worked as a `swayamsevak’ (with the RSS) and there, when an order comes, it has to be followed,” the NCP chief said, adding that Fadnavis might have accepted a junior position due to this ‘sanskar’ (values).

    He also spoke about the alleged misuse of central agencies under the BJP government, claiming that he received “love letters” from the Income Tax department regarding his election affidavits in 2004, 2009 and 2014.

    Pawar also said that the Eknath Shinde faction, which was camping in Guwahati after rebelling against the Uddhav Thackeray government, had not expected that their leader would become anything more than a deputy CM.

    “But after the BJP’s central leadership gave the orders, chief minister’s post was given to Shinde. Nobody had an inkling about it. I think Shinde himself had no idea. The second surprise, which I do not think is a surprise really, is that Devendra Fadnavis, who worked as CM for five years and then opposition leader, had to take the post of Deputy CM following directions from the central leadership,” said Pawar.

    He, however, noted that there have been such instances in the past too.

    ALSO READ | Did a film screening foretell the Eknath Shinde-Uddhav Thackeray split?

    Pawar also rejected rebel Sena MLAs’ claims that the Sena’s tie-up with NCP and Congress was the primary reason for their rebellion.

    ““This allegation is baseless. It has no connection with NCP and Congress. Something has to be told to people (as an excuse), which is why NCP and Congress are being blamed,” he said.

    Pawar also said that he spoke to Shinde and congratulated him. “Once a person becomes chief minister, he is the CM of the state. He becomes the head of the state and I expect that he would work towards solving the issues of people,” the NCP chief said.

    Asked about the collapse of the MVA government and what went wrong, Pawar said the Uddhav Thackeray-led government had not fallen short on any front.

    “Shinde showed the capability of taking away 39 MLAs, and the success (of his rebellion) lies there. I learnt that the preparation for this was going on for long, as travelling to Surat, from there to Guwahati and then to Goa, these arrangements do not take place suddenly,” he said.

    As to questions being raised about Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership, Pawar said once the Shiv Sena chief reposed faith in someone, he gave that person full responsibility.

    “We saw that he had given all the responsibility of the party organization and Legislative Assembly to Shinde. He (Shinde) was given the reins, and I do not know if this development was the fall-out,” the NCP chief said.

    Asked about parallels being drawn between the developments of 45 years ago when he toppled the Vasantdada Patil government and became chief minister, Pawar said there were no complications like today then.

    “We just decided and told Vasantdada that they (the MLAs in Pawar’s group) wanted to resign, and after that, he also resigned,” Pawar said.

    About the Supreme Court allowing a floor test to proceed in Maharashtra, Pawar said the BJP and Shinde faction had a majority, and once such a situation becomes clear, it should be accepted.

    “Uddhav Thackeray, after realising that he has lost majority, resigned gracefully,” he added.

    About accusations that Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut was responsible for the implosion within the party, Pawar said the Shiv Sena was not finished yet, and cited the examples of past rebellions which it survived.

    The biggest challenge before the new government would be to gain “credibility” and people’s faith, the veteran politician said.

    Asked if the MVA alliance will continue in the coming polls in Maharashtra, Pawar said that no decision has been taken in this regard yet.

  • Eknath Shinde: Former auto driver and Sena street fighter now in driving seat in Maharashtra

    By Online Desk

    MUMBAI: Eknath Sambhaji Shinde, who on Thursday became the 20th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, once drove auto-rickshaw to earn a living before rising as a formidable Shiv Sena leader.

    The 58-year-old leader who hails from western Maharashtra’s Satara district shifted to Thane, a Sena bastion adjacent to Mumbai, in his young days and started his political career in the same city.

    The four-time MLA, who held the urban development and PWD portfolios in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray, never hid his humble origins.

    The Eknath Shinde story: Auto driver who shook Shiv Sena’s foundations

    On the contrary, he made it a point to mention it to underscore how he has been indebted to the Shiv Sena and its founder, late Bal Thackeray for his rise in Maharashtra politics.

    Born on February 9, 1964, Shinde dropped out of college before completing graduation. After moving to Thane, he soon found his calling as one among thousands of Shiv Sena cadres who were ever-ready to hit the streets at the command of Bal Thackeray.

    Thackeray formed Shiv Sena in 1966 as a party fighting for the rights of the ‘sons-of-the-soil’ Marathi-speakers, and later aggressively championed the cause of `Hindutva’.

    ALSO READ | Did a film screening foretell the Eknath Shinde-Uddhav Thackeray split?

    As Shinde joined the Sena in Thane, he found a mentor in local party stalwart Anand Dighe. He became Dighe’s deputy and strengthened the party in Thane-Palghar region after Dighe’s sudden death in 2001.

    The sitting MLA from Kopri-Pachpakhadi in Thane city, Shinde was once a quintessential Shiv Sena street fighter.

    He faces dozens of criminal cases for charges such as ‘voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons’ and rioting, registered during various party agitations.

    He became a corporator in the Thane Municipal Corporation in 1997 and won his maiden Assembly election in 2004.

    In 2005 he was made the Sena’s Thane district chief.

    Currently he is in his fourth term as an MLA, while his son Dr Shrikant Shinde is the Lok Sabha MP from Kalyan in the district.

    WATCH |

    Shinde was appointed the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for a brief period in 2014 when the Sena initially refused to join the Devendra Fadnavis cabinet.

    The party later joined the BJP-led government, and Shinde became a cabinet minister.

    His closeness to Chief Minister Fadnavis set tongues wagging.

    It was also noted that the BJP contested elections to all civic bodies in Maharashtra in 2016 against the alliance partner Shiv Sena, except in Thane, Shinde’s home turf.

    When the Shiv Sena snapped ties with the BJP, and Sena president Uddhav Thackeray became chief minister of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government with the NCP and Congress as allies after the 2019 elections, Shinde became a cabinet minister for the second time.

    ALSO READ | ‘Hanuman Chalisa effect led to fall of Uddhav government in Maharashtra’: MP minister

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the NCP handling the health ministry, it was Shinde-controlled Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation that set up healthcare centres in Mumbai and its satellite cities to treat coronavirus patients.

    His closeness to Fadnavis apparently made the Sena leadership suspicious.

    Shinde was made guardian minister of the Naxal-hit Gadchiroli district (along with Thane), which was seen as a put-down.

    Shinde, however, remained a key Sena leader, as he had developed a strong support base of his own.

    He is known to be always accessible to party workers and colleagues, and visits the homes of ordinary party workers often.

    After managing to take away majority of Sena MLAs with him and becoming chief minister, Shinde’s next challenge would be to wrest control the party organization from Uddhav Thackeray and his loyalists.

    (With agency inputs)

  • Eknath Shinde takes oath as Maharashtra CM, Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy

    By Online Desk

    Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde was on Thursday sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister, while BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis took oath as deputy chief minister.

    Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath of office to them at Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai shortly after 7.30 pm.

    Shinde began by paying tributes to late Shiv Sena leaders Bal Thackeray and Anand Dighe. His supporters shouted slogans hailing Thackeray and Dighe as he finished taking the oath.

    Earlier on Thursday, BJP president J P Nadda said Fadnavis would be part of the new Maharashtra cabinet led by Shinde, minutes after Fadnavis announced he will not be in the government.

    Fadnavis had sprang a surprise when he announced that Shinde will be the next chief minister.

    His announcement defied expectations that he would return to the post with the support of the Shinde faction.

    “Development of the state is my priority. I will take all sections of society along with me,” Shinde told after the ceremony.

    The meteoric rise of Shinde rivals Bollywood’s film scripts. An auto-driver with humble beginnings, he went on to become the right hand man of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, and his nemesis.

    WATCH |

    Shinde is a four-time MLA and two-time minister. Skilled in organising people and events, Shinde’s spark was discovered and initially used by Sena’s Thane district president Nanad Dighe. That’s how auto-driver Shinde started driving Dighe’s car.

    He then became the eyes and ears of Dighe, who used to be known as the “king of Thane”. Closeness with Dighe helped him get elected as a corporator in the Thane Municipal Corporation. Subsequently, Shinde became an MLA and the rest is history. Over the time, he reportedly amassed huge wealth and clout in the party. In the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray, Shinde was handling plum portfolios of urban development and state road transport.

    In 2019, when Sena was bargaining with the BJP over sharing of power, Shinde was dreaming of deputy chief minister post. That dream was clipped when Uddhav Thackeray decided to form government with the help of NCP and Congress.

  • Eknath Shinde takes oath as Maharashtra CM, Devendra Fadnavis his deputy

    By Online Desk

    Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Thursday took oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy, a day after Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation from the top post bringing to an end the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

    On the request of BJP president JP Nadda, Fadnavis had decided to join the government in the interest of the state, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday evening.

    During a press meet earlier in the day, Fadnavis had said that BJP would support a new minority government led by Shiv Sena rebel group leader Eknath Shinde, who will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

    The meteoric rise of Shinde rivals Bollywood’s film scripts. An auto-driver with humble beginnings, he went on to become the right hand man of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, and his nemesis.

    Shinde is a four-time MLA and two-time minister. Skilled in organising people and events, Shinde’s spark was discovered and initially used by Sena’s Thane district president Nanad Dighe. That’s how auto-driver Shinde started driving Dighe’s car.

    He then became the eyes and ears of Dighe, who used to be known as the “king of Thane”. Closeness with Dighe helped him get elected as a corporator in the Thane Municipal Corporation. Subsequently, Shinde became an MLA and the rest is history. Over the time, he reportedly amassed huge wealth and clout in the party. In the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray, Shinde was handling plum portfolios of urban development and state road transport.

    In 2019, when Sena was bargaining with the BJP over sharing of power, Shinde was dreaming of deputy chief minister post. That dream was clipped when Uddhav Thackeray decided to form government with the help of NCP and Congress.